If you have a limited amount of money to spend on clothing, here are some
tips on how to "buy smart";

1. Make a plan before you go shopping for clothes. Go through your clothing
to see what you really need, then go shopping with those needs in mind.

2. When choosing items you wear a lot (like shoes or underwear), buy only good
quality items.

3. When choosing items you’ll wear only a few times (like a party dress or
a fad T-shirt), you can pay less attention to quality and spend less.

4. Stick to a few basic colors of separates (tops, pants, and skirts), so you
can mix and match pieces of clothing. This way, your wardrobe will go further.
Stick to basic colors of shoes, too, so they’ll go with most of your clothes.

5. Read the label to make sure an item is easy to care for. If an item must
be dry-cleaned, it will cost more to take care of. If an item is polyester and
cotton, it should not have to be ironed.

6. Make sure clothing fits well and is in a becoming style and color.

7. Learn when clothes go on sale. Stores have clearance sales for summer wear
in July and winter clothes in January.

Directions: Read the way each person below shopped for clothes. Write ‘yes’
if the person followed the tips above. Write ‘no’ if the person did not.

_____ 1. Michelle bought a sweater at a bargain price, but she didn’t have
anything to wear with it.

_____ 2. Sue thought that since underwear doesn’t show, she’d buy the cheapest
she could find.

_____ 3. Nancy bought some sharp looking purple shoes, but she could only wear
them with one outfit.

_____ 4. Jim bought a sweater on sale. It had to be dry-cleaned, and the trim
had to be removed by hand before cleaning.

_____ 5. Sam needed a coat. He shopped at several stores. He decided on a good-quality
coat that was on sale.

_____ 6. Before his new job started, Joe took a good look at his clothes. He
bought five items that he really needed.

_____ 7. Joanne bought a red hoop mini-skirt that was really ‘in’, but she
looked and felt silly in it.